A California man has been charged after he allegedly pointed a gun at an elementary faculty administrator who was directing visitors throughout morning drop-offs final week, Los Angeles prosecutors introduced.
Vahe Armen, 32, allegedly drove into the busy carpool line of the Larchmont Constitution Elementary Faculty in West Hollywood on the morning of November 16, then stepped out of the automobile with a rifle in his arms and pointed it on the faculty administrator, in keeping with a launch from Los Angeles County District Lawyer George Gascón.
The administrator noticed Armen level the “assault-style” rifle at her, and she or he frantically waved youngsters inside the varsity earlier than he received again into his automobile and drove off.
Police later apprehended Armen on Sundown Boulevard, the place he was present in his automobile with a weapon, prosecutors mentioned.
“In an period tormented by an epidemic of mass shootings at colleges throughout our nation, each mother or father in America faces an unimaginable worry after they ship their youngsters to highschool. It’s an unfair burden that no mother or father ought to bear,” Gascón mentioned.
A mother or father, who didn’t wish to be recognized, informed The Submit there was an unrelated name for a bomb menace close to the varsity earlier final week, which didn’t grow to be actual.
Mother and father and employees have been already on excessive alert after they noticed the suspect pull as much as the varsity with the weapon on Thursday.
“It was round 10 minutes after everybody dropped off their youngsters that all of us received an alert from Citizen [phone application], so a bunch of households who dwell shut by rushed again to the varsity,” the mother or father mentioned.
“Police have been there and so they mentioned this particular person has been there earlier than and he’s identified to them. … Fortunately nothing occurred however in fact the academics have been very visibly shaken. Fairly frankly, it’s infuriating as a result of this stuff are avoidable when metropolis officers do nothing.”
One other mother or father, who additionally needed to stay nameless, informed The Submit the suspect went into the varsity property through the mother and father’ carpool line.
“He exited his automobile and he took out what gave the impression to be an automated weapon and pointed it towards one of many directors who was handing out the tardy slips,” the mother or father mentioned.
“He stopped on the carpool line and pointed the weapon, however we’ve got a tremendous administrator who needed to actually assume on her toes and was capable of get the children inside. She noticed him coming and was capable of get the children in instantly. Then the varsity went on lockdown.”
The mother and father mentioned they don’t know who the suspect is or if he’s related to the varsity.
Armen faces one rely of assault with a lethal weapon or by means prone to trigger nice bodily damage on a faculty worker, together with one rely of weapons on the grounds of a grades Ok-12 faculty.
He additionally faces prices for assault on an elder from a separate October 24 incident.
It’s unclear what the motivations of the alleged incident have been. Armen stays behind bars on $5 million bail, and will withstand seven years if convicted.
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